In Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough, there is always news aplenty. Something seems to happen all the time, from the remarkable and astounding to the fun and fabulous. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most recent.

Giving Back: Chapel Hill Turkish Cultural and Community Center to Open in 2020

A new Turkish Cultural and Community Center, funded in part by the foundation of UNC professor and Nobel Prize winner Aziz Sancar, will create interactions between American students and Turkish students at UNC. Aziz won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2015 for the discovery of nucleotide excision repair – how damaged DNA is repaired. Situated on two acres of land on East Franklin Street, the Center will have a 9,700 square-foot, environmentally sustainable building with classrooms for students and the community, as well as a two-story, low-cost guest house that will host up to eight Turkish students or scholars. According to the Pew Research Center in 2017, 72% of Turks consider the United States a threat. Aziz and his wife, Gwen – who is a biophysics professor at UNC – want the Sancar Turkish Cultural & Community Center (STCCC) to serve as a facility for all citizens of Chapel Hill, as well as a place for Turks to celebrate their culture, in hopes that it will improve understanding.

Area Restaurant News

Hawkers restaurant to bring ‘streets of Asia’ to Chapel Hill’s University Place Mall

A new restaurant will bring the flavors of Southeast Asia’s popular street fare to University Place on South Estes Drive. Hawkers is named for Asian street vendors who prepare and sell family recipes from mobile stands and stalls. The restaurant will serve homemade favorites, from dumplings and wontons to curries, wings, and pork belly. The restaurant will be the second North Carolina location when it opens early next year.

New Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks Chapel Hill to have Drive-Through Service

Carraway Village Developer Northwood Ravin announced that Starbucks Coffee will be among the first commercial tenants in the 55-acre mixed-use neighborhood. A freestanding Chick-Fil-A restaurant is planned for a 1.5-acre adjacent lot. Both businesses will open in early 2020. Both also will have a drive-through service.

Unique Restaurant for Hillsborough

Carrboro restaurants Napoli Pizza and Glasshalfull wine bar will partner on a new restaurant slated to open this fall. The restaurant will be in west Hillsborough, near Hillsborough BBQ and the Nash Street Tavern. The new restaurant will carry the Napoli name but will venture beyond the pizza and gelato it serves now from its East Main Street restaurant and popular food truck in Carrboro. It also will feature small plates and entrees, some of which will be cooked in a wood oven.

A Nationally Celebrated Event: The Carrboro Music Festival

A whole lot of music will be hitting the streets next month. The 2019 Carrboro Music Festival will be held on Saturday, September 28th and Sunday, September 29th. This year marks the 22nd Anniversary of the Festival.

“The Carrboro Music Festival has been an integral part of my being a musician in Carrboro,” says musician Sallie Scharding, who is a member of the vintage jazz band, Paper Moon. “I have been involved with the festival since the 2nd year when it was known as the Fete De La Music. I am so very proud of this festival and how it has grown over the years, and especially how it continues to bring our entire community together for an amazing day of celebrating music and local musicians each year.”

The main event will be held on Sunday and will feature a wide variety of acts at venues all over downtown Carrboro. Saturday's kick-off event will feature bands at Carrboro Town Commons, beginning at 2:00 pm. A free, ticketed, the show will be held at the Cat's Cradle at 8:30 pm.

The Carrboro Music Festival is an effort to host a free two-day event to showcase Triangle-area performers and the varied musical styles they represent. All of the performers donate their talents to foster a strong sense of community through music, and the time-honored creation of that which we can never have enough: fun.